The Investment Environment for Food Brands

Industry All-Stars Have Spoken at NOSH Live

Gary Hirshberg

Co-Founder & Chief Organic Optimist, Stonyfield Farm

Gary Hirshberg

Co-Founder & Chief Organic Optimist, Stonyfield Farm

Gary Hirshberg is Co-Founder and Chief Organic Optimist of Stonyfield Farm, the world’s leading organic yogurt producer, and the author of Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World (Hyperion, 2008). Gary frequently speaks on topics including sustainability, organic agriculture and the profitability of green business. Gary serves on several corporate and non-profit boards, including Blue Apron, Forager, Orgain, Peak Organic Brewing, and UNreal chocolates as well as Advisory Board member for Applegate. He has received 12 honorary doctorates and numerous awards for corporate and environmental leadership including a 2015 Champion for Children Award from Mount Sinai Hospital’s Children’s Environmental Health Center and a Lifetime Achievement Award by the US EPA.

Adnan Durrani

Founder & CEO, Saffron Road

Adnan Durrani

Founder & CEO, Saffron Road

Mr. Durrani is the CEO and founder of American Halal Co, Inc. — which markets the Saffron Road brand line of
culinary cuisines and plant based protein snacks. Saffron Road is the first halal product to be sold nationally in
the USA. Whole Foods has noted Saffron Road as being one of the most successful brand launches nationally
in their 30-year history. Saffron Road is now a leading Natural/Organic PLATFORM brand and is sold in over
20,000 retail food stores. According to A.C. Nielson/SPINS Scantrak, Saffron Road is the fastest growing natural
frozen entrée brand in USA and nationally ranked #2. Mr. Durrani is a serial entrepreneur and investment
professional for almost 30 years, as President of Condor Ventures, Inc., a venture firm devoted to strategic
investing in natural food companies. His entrepreneurial ventures have resulted in a successful track record of
scaling and growing niche beverage and natural food product lines into mainstream branded companies that
also deliver disruptive social impact. Mr. Durrani founded Vermont Pure in 1991. Today, Vermont Pure/Crystal
Rock is the 2nd largest bottled water company in the Northeast. Mr. Durrani was also a partner in Stonyfield
Farms, Inc., which was sold to Groupe Danone in 2001. He was also a principal of Delicious Brands, Inc., which
he scaled, with the financial backing of Carl Icahn, to become the 5th largest cookie brand in the U.S. Adnan
also sits on the Board of Directors of Maple Hill Creamery.

Deb Hannah

Director, Retail Brand Partnerships, Starbucks

Deb Hannah

Director, Retail Brand Partnerships, Starbucks

Deb joined Starbucks 5 years ago, and for the past year has led the Retail Brand Partnerships team. She and her team run the snack category across North America and have the enviable task of finding new food brands for Starbucks stores that customers can feel good about—ones made with simple, pure ingredients and crafted with love and care.
Prior to working with food entrepreneurs to build a snack business for Starbucks stores, Deb spent 12 years in traditional consumer packaged goods. At Starbucks she created the shopper marketing and shopper insights function from the ground up, and managed various coffee brands for the FDMC channel including Starbucks packaged coffee, Seattle’s Best, and VIA Instant coffee. At Kimberly-Clark she worked in various brand management and innovation roles. There she managed the creation of multi-brand marketing programs and the brand and shopper marketing efforts for the U by Kotex® launch, which won numerous awards including an IRI product Pacesetter, a Silver Effie for Shopper Marketing, and a Gold Hub Prize.
Prior to Kimberly-Clark, Deb worked as a consultant with several leading retailers for Kurt Salmon.
Deb has an undergraduate degree from Texas A&M and an MBA from Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

John Foraker

Co-Founder & CEO, Once Upon A Farm

John Foraker

Co-Founder & CEO, Once Upon A Farm

John is the Co-founder and CEO of Once Upon A Farm, a company on a mission to build a purpose driven brand focused on reinventing a number of kid-food categories in the US toward better health & nutrition, while driving significant positive social and environmental impact. Company information can be found at www.onceuponafarmorganics.com. Prior to his new start-up, John spent more than 30 years in the natural and organic food industry running businesses with a sharp focus on sustainability and social responsibility. John was the longtime leader of Annie’s, Inc., a leading natural & organic food brand, in the US from 1999 to 2017. As CEO of Annie’s, he took the company public in 2012 under the symbol BNNY before General Mills acquired the business in 2014 for $820 million. For the following three years John ran the Annie’s operating unit and also advised General Mills’ small business incubator 301, Inc. He was recognized as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® 2015 in Northern California. In August 2017, he transitioned into a new role as Chairman of the Bunny, where he continues to work with General Mills to drive leadership in company culture, organic and regenerative agriculture, and strategy support. Foraker received a B.S. in agricultural economics from UC Davis and an MBA from UC Berkeley.

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Chief Brand Officer & Co-Founder, Foodstirs

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Chief Brand Officer & Co-Founder, Foodstirs

Sarah Michelle Gellar is a Golden Globe nominee and Emmy winning actress best known for her roles in
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ABC’s All My Children, CBS’s The Crazy Ones, and Cruel Intentions among others.
Off screen, Gellar lends her time and support to child and hunger organizations as an advocate and activist.
She works closely with No Kid Hungry and Baby Buggy as well as the nonprofit organization CARE. In
October 2015, Gellar stepped into a new role as entrepreneur, co-founding Foodstirs (www.foodstirs.com)
along with Galit Laibow and Gia Russo. Foodstirs is a culinary lifestyle brand that offers convenient, delicious
and healthier ways to bring families together in the kitchen. From creative cooking kits to premium signature
baking mixes, Foodstirs inspires creativity and curiosity, while emphasizing the importance of a healthier
lifestyle.

Brendan Synnott

Founder, Revelry Brands & Bear Naked

Brendan Synnott

Founder, Revelry Brands & Bear Naked

Brendan Synnott is the Founder of Revelry Brands and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PACT | ORGANIC, makers of super soft organic cotton apparel. Synnott is leading his team to change the apparel industry for good.
Synnott has built multiple lifestyle brands from scratch. His work has produced a unique signature across product categories that align with the millennial generation’s evolved relationship with consumption.
In 2002, at the age of 23, Synnott co-founded the healthy snack company, Bear Naked that was later acquired by Kellogg. In 2009, he founded Revelry Brands as a vehicle to provide strategy, people and capital to new ventures including co-founding EVOL Foods. Currently, Revelry holdings include the pet care brand I and Love and You, candy brand Little Secrets as well as apparel brand PACT | ORGANIC.
With a degree in economics from Vanderbilt University, Synnott has levied his strengths to not only follow his passions, but tap into his competitive and energetic nature, which has included a role with the talent department at Saturday Night Live and a stint as a cast member on CBS’s Survivor.

Seth Goldman

Chairman, Beyond Meat; TeaEO, Honest Tea

Seth Goldman

Chairman, Beyond Meat; TeaEO, Honest Tea

Seth Goldman co-founded Honest® Tea in 1998 with Professor Barry Nalebuff of the Yale School of Management. In March 2011, Honest Tea was acquired by The Coca-Cola Company, helping to further the reach and impact of Honest Tea’s mission by becoming the first organic and Fair Trade brand in the world's largest beverage distribution system. Today, Honest Tea is the nation’s top selling ready-to-drink organic bottled tea and Honest Kids® is the nation’s top-selling organic kids’ juice drink. The brands are carried in more than 130,000 outlets in the United States, including all Wendy’s, Chik-fil-A, and SUBWAY restaurants. In 2016 Honest Tea’s distribution expanded to Europe.
In 2016, Seth transitioned to a new role at Honest Tea as TeaEO Emeritus and Innovation Catalyst for Coca-Cola’s Venturing & Emerging Brands business unit. This transition allows him to take on an additional role as Executive Chairman of Beyond Meat, a privately held California-based enterprise on the cutting edge of plant-based protein research and development.
In 2015 Seth was named the #1 Disruptor by Beverage World, and Beverage Executive of the Year by Beverage Industry magazine; he was also inducted into the Washington DC Business Hall of Fame. Seth has also been recognized by the United States Healthful Food Council with a REAL Food Innovator Award for helping change the food landscape by providing options that are healthier for both the body and the planet.
Seth serves on the advisory boards of Ripple Foods, the Yale School of Management, the American Beverage Association, and Bethesda Green (a local sustainability non-profit he co-founded). He graduated from Harvard College (1987) and the Yale School of Management (1995), and is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. Seth and Barry are the authors, along with graphic artist Soongyun Choi, of The New York Times bestseller Mission in a Bottle. The book, told in comic book form, captures their efforts to create a mission-driven business in a profit-driven world. Seth lives with his wife and three sons near Honest Tea’s Bethesda, MD headquarters in an eco-friendly house.

Carole Buyers

Managing Partner, Boulder Investment Group Reprise

Carole Buyers

Managing Partner, Boulder Investment Group Reprise

Carole Buyers is a Managing Partner at Boulder Investment Group Reprise (BIGR) a venture fund that
invests in early-stage natural and organic food & beverage companies. Carole has been involved with investments & the natural foods industry for over 20 years. As one of the first analysts to cover Whole Foods, she has had a front row seat as the story of this now powerful sector has emerged. Carole has worked with RBC Capital on the sell-side and The Boston Company on the buy-side. In 2008, she left financial services, taking a leadership role in corporate finance and investor relations with Gaiam.
In 2010, Carole joined Boulder Brands, Inc., to lead Investor Relations & Business Development. At
Boulder Brands, Carole was responsible for the Company’s investor relations program, managing
relationships and communications with the investment community. In addition, Miss Buyers managed mergers and acquisitions for Boulder Brands and identified and led the processes to acquire Udi’s, Glutino and EVOL. These acquisitions marked the initiation of the transformation of Boulder Brands to the natural foods powerhouse it is today. Carole was also one of three Directors of the Boulder Brands Investment Group (BBIG), an incubator fund which provided minority capital and helped natural food &
beverage companies accelerate sustainable growth in the natural foods channel.
Carole also enjoys time with her husband and children, music, yoga, running, tennis and golf.

Anthony Tyree

Vice President, Global Snacks, The Hershey Company

Anthony Tyree

Vice President, Global Snacks, The Hershey Company

Anthony (Tony) Tyree is Vice President, Global Snacks for The Hershey Company. He is responsible for fulfilling the company’s vision of developing a $2 billion snacks portfolio across the globe. In his role, Tony leads the development of the strategic plan for Global Snacks, which translates to country implementation plans across focus markets. Tony’s responsibilities extend beyond organic innovation platforms, like Hershey’s Spreads, Snack mixes and Brookside snacks, to strategic opportunities including mergers and acquisitions (e.g. Krave).

Shazi Visram

Founder & ChairMom, Happy Family Brands

Shazi Visram

Founder & ChairMom, Happy Family Brands

Shazi Visram is an entrepreneur and mother committed to bettering the world through business that is socially, financially, and environmentally enlightened. Visram is the Founder and ChairMom of Happy Family Brands, which she led to become the #1 organic baby food company in the US market with disruptive innovations that have democratized organic food for new families. Visram's business focus is rooted in an unflinching dedication to the health and wellness of children and families around the world. As an advocate of social entrepreneurship, Visram is actively engaged as an investor and advisor to companies innovating for a brighter future, including EpiBone, Bulletproof, Ovia Health, Frontier Nutrition, and Recycle Track Systems. Additionally, Visram holds a seat on the board of Environmental Working Group and serves on the Board of Overseers at her alma mater, Columbia Business School.

Janica Lane

Managing Director, Piper Jaffray

Janica Lane

Managing Director, Piper Jaffray

Janica Lane is a managing director at Piper Jaffray focused on providing investment banking and M&A advisory services to consumer companies in healthy, active and sustainable living industries, with a focus on food and beverage, as well as nutritional supplements.
Prior to joining Piper Jaffray, Lane was a partner at Partnership Capital Growth, a boutique investment bank providing M&A and private placement services to health and wellness-oriented businesses. Prior to investment banking, Lane was a researcher at Stanford University’s Center for Environmental Science and Policy (CESP) and an equity research associate on Prudential Securities’ energy team.
Lane has a Master of Business Administration degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She received dual bachelor's degrees (international relations and Spanish) with Phi Beta Kappa honors from Stanford University. She spent six months living in Santiago, Chile, as part of her undergraduate education and is fluent in Spanish.

Peter Rahal

See you in Santa Monica, CA on December 3rd & 4th!

NOSH Live's winter event takes place at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. Enjoy the SoCal weather, magnificent sunsets, views of the Santa Monica Pier, and superior accommodations at the famous beachfront hotel. A discounted room block will be made available for registered attendees on a first-come first-served basis. Registering now grants you first access to the room block when it is made available.